Colin MacDonald’s speech to the ESRI conference 2009

5 November 2009

LINZ CE Colin MacDonald was invited to give a keynote address at the start of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) users’ conference this week, and used the opportunity to update GIS professionals, users and developers about LINZ’s successful work to date, and future actions.

A transcript of Colin’s speech is below. You can you also download a copy of his presentation.

Transcript of speech

Thank you for the opportunity to address you. My talk this morning is about “Federated Geospatial Information and the work of Land Information New Zealand.”

My key messages are the following:

• LINZ strategic direction is now closely aligned with federated geospatial information
• LINZ is acting in this area and I will cover some of the relevant activities we have done and are doing
• Planning and consulting is underway for further actions.

The LINZ Statement of Intent for 2009-2012 (released in May of this year at Budget time) gives LINZ a new end outcome of Federated Geospatial Information – meaning that New Zealand’s geospatial data is available, accessible and able to be shared. Ministerial priority and endorsement of the Statement of Intent means that LINZ now has a clear mandate to act in this area.

The contributing outcomes in the Statement of Intent are the same as the goals of the Geospatial Strategy:

• Governance
• Interoperability
• Access
• Data

which will ensure increased momentum for the work programme under the Strategy.

LINZ now has a mandate for leadership in the development of a national spatial data infrastructure and I intend to provide that leadership.

LINZ is acting - what has been done and what are we doing

You’ve already heard about the report “Spatial Information in the New Zealand economy: Realising Productivity Benefits”. This report was commissioned and completed in the first phase of the Geospatial Strategy work programme. LINZ provided the majority of the funding for the work with some funding also from the Department of Conservation and the Ministry for Economic Development. The report was a priority for the Geospatial Executives’ Group and as the Minister has stated in his address, it gives a robust evidence base for the value of spatial information to use in framing future work.

LINZ has also funded research related to the coordination of geospatial standards. An outcome of this is that I have agreed to commit an additional resource in the Geospatial Office for ongoing coordination of geospatial standards work.

In August LINZ coordinated a series of workshops throughout the country on geospatial metadata. Attendees came from all sectors of the geospatial community to learn about a recently released free input tool and associated resources developed under the Australia New Zealand Land Information Council (ANZLIC) banner. LINZ is also presenting a paper at this conference on this subject.

Work is also ongoing with the SSC on a proposal for the ANZLIC metadata profile to become a recommended standard under the e-government interoperability framework (e-GIF).

LINZ has provided the majority of resources for the work above but there has also been some valuable input along the way from other central government agencies, local government, CRIs, the private and education sectors. This is the joint manner that work under the Geospatial Strategy needs to occur.

I initiated a review of the governance for the Geospatial Strategy. A more focused Geospatial Executives’ Group now provides strategic direction. The Group comprises myself as Chair and Chief Executives from Statistics NZ, NZ Fire Service, Department of Conservation, Ministry of Research, Science and Technology, Auckland Regional Council and Rear Admiral Steer from the NZDF.

The Chief Executives assume responsibility for sector coverage. For instance, the Chief Executive of DOC represents the environment sector and after two years on the Group, the Chief Executive of the Ministry for the Environment or the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry may take over sector representation.

In addition to items under the Geospatial Strategy work programme, I want to mention LINZ initiatives, which also contribute to the federated geospatial information end outcome.

This slide shows the current LINZ PositioNZ Network throughout the country. The primary objective of this network of geodetic stations is for deformation and datum monitoring. However a secondary objective is that they can provide very accurate correction data for satellite signals so users can obtain consistent positions – down to 2 centimetres resolution. The provision of this data has in the past been done in post-processed mode.

Analysis of upgrading PositioNZ stations to provide real-time data (or Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) status) showed a cost benefit ratio of 20:1, excluding benefits to LINZ itself. Consequently, within the next 12-18 months all PositioNZ stations should be upgraded and operating in real-time mode.

The next slide shows PositioNZ stations as well as other Continuously Operating Reference Stations - Geological and Nuclear Sciences GeoNetwork stations used for earthquake monitoring (red) and private stations (blue and yellow – mainly in urban centres). LINZ has consulted with private CORS providers who will ensure their stations meet standards that allow them to be included as official geodetic marks in Landonline.

LINZ and GNS real-time correction data will be provided free to third party providers who may add value to the data for applications in areas such as construction, utilities and agriculture where precision positioning can bring many benefits. Taken together, the Continuously Operating Reference Stations shown on this slide provide a sound basis for a precise positioning infrastructure in New Zealand.

The new national topographic map series was launched in September this year. The maps are based on NZ Geodetic Datum 2000 (NZGD2000) – a semi-dynamic geocentric datum which meets international standards and is GPS compatible. The new map series work has been done in close consultation with the emergency services and defence sectors in particular for whom data standardisation and integration with other geospatial applications is critical.

Topographic digital image maps (GEOTIFF & TIFF format) are available for free download from the LINZ website. Users can also obtain all the high resolution raster images on removable hard drives from LINZ for use with other geospatial information. In addition to providing raster digital images, LINZ will make vector-based topographic data available for download for free from the LINZ website in ESRI Shape file format.

Providing data in easy to use formats supports another LINZ end outcome – ‘Authoritative land and seabed information’, where people who need LINZ data can access it easily and be confident in how they communicate and make decisions about locations based on its application.

With reference to Landonline data, LINZ is running a pilot to look at methods of improving the accuracy of the rural cadastre – which is outside of the red urban and peri-urban Survey Data Capture (SDC) areas on the slide. Cadastral boundaries in the red SDC areas (which contain 70% of cadastral parcels in NZ) were input at Landonline initial data capture stage based on survey measurements. Landonline rural cadastral boundaries in non-SDC areas (outside the red areas) were derived from digitised cadastral record maps. In these areas, some boundaries can be out of alignment with physical features by up to 50 metres. Relative accuracy is often good but absolute accuracy may be poor.

We are working in partnership with the Auckland Local Government Geographic Information group (ALGGi) in the Auckland region as well as other territorial local authorities on this pilot. Private sector surveyors are assisting with process development and data capture.

This slide shows Landonline data overlaid with accurate aerial photography. The red lines in the middle of the figure show the original location of a road parcel. The blue lines show the position of the same parcel after readjustment (with the formed road now contained within the parcel). Green lines are other parcel boundaries after readjustment (showing a better match with the hedges/windbreaks).

In a federated geospatial information environment many users integrate cadastral boundaries with physical information such as aerial photos, satellite images, topographic map images or utility networks. Improved cadastral parcel absolute accuracy will benefit companies, local government and agencies using GIS in rural areas as well as the survey industry. The pilot will assess methods and resources required.

LINZ is providing resourcing to set up a New Zealand node for the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI). The Australia and New Zealand spatial sectors will gain access to new data, technologies and services through the AU$32.2 million funding of a major research program in positioning, spatial data infrastructure and remote sensing technologies, announced by the Australian Government in August this year. The funding goes to the CRCSI and involves over 100 organisations, from government and the private sector (including a number of NZ companies), coming together with universities in an eight-year joint venture (2009-2017).

With a total budget of around AU$180 million over eight years (made up of government and member funding and in-kind support), LINZ recognised the opportunity for the CRCSI to deliver benefits to New Zealand and joined the research programme re-bid application earlier this year. The successful re-bid builds on encouraging results produced by the CRCSI in the last six years, including access to intellectual property, networking for information access and strategic alliances, formation of new markets and access to international markets, and upskilling opportunities.

Planning and consultation is underway for further actions

Work is underway on planning the 2nd phase of the Geospatial Strategy work programme.

A workshop was held late last month with agencies to build on previous work to identify high-priority national geospatial datasets and clarify opportunities for improvement. LINZ is also consulting with representatives of the Spatial Industries Business Association over work programme priorities.

Likely priorities are related to the data, access and interoperability goals of the Strategy:

• data - ensuring fundamental datasets are identified clearly, captured and maintained to necessary standards and improved where required and funded (for instance - cadastral parcel accuracy in rural areas may be one candidate for improvement)
• access and interoperability - design and funding arrangements for technical components of a Spatial Data Infrastructure.

I want to leave you with the key messages I started my talk with:

• LINZ strategic direction is now closely aligned with federated geospatial information
• LINZ is already acting in this area
• Planning and consulting is underway for further actions.

Thank you again for the chance to address you this morning and best wishes for what I am sure will be a very successful conference.

Media enquiries: Dionne Barton, Land Information New Zealand, phone +64 4 460 2718, mobile +64 27 444 4223, email media@linz.govt.nz.